The Glory of Yahweh
Some of the electrical science found in the Bible, a number of incidents have been ridiculed by people who don't understand it. Those who have accepted these incidents on faith have merely thought of them as some of Yahweh's mysterious magic. The great God, who originated all scientific principles, uses His own handiwork according to His own laws.
In Exodus 3:1‑12 we read that Moses saw a bush which was covered with fire, but it wasn't consumed. Yahweh spoke to Moses out of the flames. People, who like to think they are wise, have ridiculed this idea of fire, which didn't burn the bush. For many centuries, most of the sailors, who served on the old tall masted sailing ships, saw such fire when thunder storms were overhead, they called it St. Elmo's fire.
When these flames flared on the tips of the masts, lightning never struck the ship. It was an electrical discharge, by which the terrific electrical charge, which the storm had built up in the ship, was released before it could attract the terrible thunderbolt. The same great streamers of electrical flame are sometimes seen at the wing tips of airplanes, when they fly near thunderclouds.
We would naturally expect the presence of Yahweh, who is the creator and source of all energy, to be manifested in a tremendous charge of electrical energy, the purest form of energy. Since Yahweh was standing in the bush, naturally the electrical flames streamed out from His presence. Yahweh warned Moses not to come close and told him to take off his shoes.
By removing the insulation of his shoes, Moses was thus grounded, so he took on the same electrical potential as the ground on which he stood. Thus, he was no longer a target for a lightning bolt from the electrical charge surrounding the bush. This made it safe for Moses to remain and talk with Yahweh. Call it a miracle if you will, but it was done by natural means.
When Yahweh stood on the crest of Mt. Sinai to give Moses the law, we read in Exodus chapters 19 & 24,
"There were thunder's and lightning's, and a thick cloud upon the mount. And the sight of the glory of Yahweh was like devouring fire on the top of the mount."
Experienced mountain climbers have often been on some peak when a thundercloud came overhead. The electrical charge on the mountain became so great that the rocks would hiss and crackle with the discharge of current.
The climbers have to hastily go down to lower levels, lest they be hit by lightning. This, but on a proportionately greater scale, was what the presence of Yahweh produced on the crest of Mt. Sinai with lightning and St. Elmo's fire all over the crest.
Exodus 40:34‑35 & 1 Kings 8:10‑11 tells when Moses dedicated the tabernacle in the wilderness during the exodus, and when Solomon dedicated the first temple in Jerusalem, we read that the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle and the temple so that the priests dared not enter it. This is the field of unimaginably great electrical energy, which surrounds the presence of Yahweh.
It is recorded in Revelation 4:2‑5 that when the apostle John was permitted to see Yahweh upon His throne in heaven, he saw that lightning and thunder came out of the throne. Obviously, this awful electrical field can be terribly destructive to those who incur Yahweh's wrath. Psalm 50:3 says,
"There shall go before Him a consuming fire, and a mighty tempest shall be stirred round about Him."
A tempest is not just a wind or rainstorm, but an electrical storm.
Leviticus 10:1‑2 tells how Nadab and Abihu, son of Aaron, presumptuously came into the presence of Yahweh in the tabernacle to offer incense, contrary to Yahweh's commandments. Consequently there went out fire from Yahweh and devoured them, and they died.
In 2 Samuel chapter 6 we read that when King David ordered the ark of Yahweh brought from the village of Gibeah to Jerusalem, the ark was put on a cart drawn by oxen. When a rough place in the road rocked the cart, Uzzah (one of the drivers) put his hand on the ark to steady it and was struck dead at once. Obviously this was a clear sign of electrocution. But how did it happen? The Bible gives us a clear and scientific explanation.
Those of you, who have built your own radio or hi‑fi sets, know it's a device, which can store up a heavy charge of electricity; it is called a condenser or capacitor. Basically, it is a three‑layer sandwich; the two outside layers are sheets of metal foil, which conducts electricity.
The center layer is some insulating substance such as paper, which will not conduct electricity. About 150 years ago, at the university of Layden, Germany, scientists discovered that if you took a glass jar, like the Mason jars your mother used to can fruit, and lined it with tin foil about half way up the inside and the outside, a heavy charge of electricity could be stored in it. If you hooked up a battery to three or four of these Layden jars, they could give you a shock that would knock you silly.
In both the tabernacle in the wilderness and the temple in Jerusalem, there was an innermost chamber, the holy of holies, in which the sacred furniture was placed. The priests didn't dare go into this room. Only the high priest was allowed to enter and even then, he was allowed to go into the holy of holies only once a year, on the Day of Atonement.
The sacred furniture consisted of;
(1) The Ark of the Covenant. This was a chest about three feet nine inches long, two feet three inches wide, and two feet three inches deep. On top of this was the golden mercy seat.
(2) A low table, three feet long by 18 inches wide.
(3) The altar for incense.
(4) The golden candlestick.
(5) The two statues of cherubim angels standing so that their outstretched wings formed a canopy over the mercy seat. All of these, except the golden candlestick, were made of wood; all of them were covered with a layer of pure gold, inside and outside.
The Ark of the Covenant, the table and the altar for incense were each a huge condenser, a layer of dry wood insulation between two layers of gold. The details are given in Exodus chapters 25‑30.
When even a little Layden jar can be charged by a small and weak generator, with enough electricity to give a nasty shock, consider how powerful a charge would be accumulated in these huge condensers in the tabernacle or temple, when charged by the terrific electrical field, which surrounds the presence of Almighty Yahweh!
They could discharge a deadly lightning flash at one� who intruded against Yahweh's express commands. The tabernacle had walls made of gold covered wooden boards. These were mounted in silver sockets, which grounded them and constantly drained off any electrical charge, which might accumulate in them. Thus it was made safe for the priest to work in the tabernacle, as long as they kept out of the holy of holies.
The priests were forbidden to wear garments of any material except linen, no wool or silk. As nomadic shepherds, the Israelites had plenty of wool. However, they weren't in any place long enough, during the forty years of the exodus, to raise flax for linen, so they had to buy linen from other nations. Animal fibers, such as wool and silk, generate static electricity. Have you ever walked around on a wool carpet some cold, dry morning, then reached out to grasp a metal doorknob and received a shock?
If the priests wore wool, they were soon charged with static electricity, they would become natural targets for the lightning from the furniture of the tabernacle or temple. However, linen doesn't generate electricity, so the priests were safe as long as they wore linen. Exodus chapter 28 gives the rules for the garments the priests wore.
We see that Yahweh who created all things, and made the laws, which govern them, can use everything He created to carry out all of His purposes. Yes, He did many miracles. These miracles we cannot duplicate with our modern science, because we don't have control over the most powerful forces of nature as He does. There are things we cannot even understand, because our most modern science still doesn't know enough about how these forces operate.
Many have scoffed at these miracles, because they were too ignorant to understand how Yahweh can work within His own laws. We are just coming to realize that nobody is as scientific as Yahweh, our God and Father. (Taken, in part, from a study entitled �The Glory of Yahweh,� by Bertrand L. Comparet)